Me and Mummy
by leftyguitar
Summary: Greg gets a case where a  mummy is found in a mine. He's got an angry Jeff McKean, an explosion, a  small dog and murderer to contend with.  X with Miami  NickGreg friendship More serious the title suggests, but some humor,
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: not mine, though that's kind of implied. No money, so please don't sue me.**

**Spoilers: Season three, expect for Living Doll, as I want to know how it ends before writing about it. **

A loud snore interrupted the relative quiet of the dark apartment. A young man was sleeping on a squashy old sofa. A small dog lay on his feet. It looked like a travel-sized version of Lassie. The dog was also asleep.

In front of the couch, a scratched, wooden coffee table sat. On it there was half a pizza, three different remote controls, a set of keys, and a cell phone.

The young man was still wearing a faded pair of blue jeans and a Marilyn Manson T-shirt, having passed out in front of the TV again.

The TV itself was showing reruns of the X-Files. The man in apartment had turned it on and fallen asleep halfway through the episode, exhausted from yet another double shift.

His dog picked up it's head and yawned once. Seeing no reaction from his owner, he then got up and walked over to the coffee table. After a quick sniff, the animal buried his nose in the pizza box.

Seconds later, the cell phone rang, echoing through the apartment. The dog yelped in surprised and jumped back on the couch, landing neatly on his owner's stomach.

"Oww!" a pair brown eyes shot open in surprise. "Stupid dog." He muttered, giving him a friendly scratch behind the ear. The phone rang again. Without bothering to see who was one the other end, the young man picked it up.

"If this isn't a hot chick, I'm hanging up." He announced, still half asleep.

"Greg?" An amused and very familiar voice sounded in his ear. The voice did not belong to a hot chick.

"Never mind." Greg suddenly wished the floor would open up and swallow him. "Hi boss."

Grissom said, "Good morning."

Tired, and now more annoyed then humiliated, Sanders responded, "Do you have any idea what time it is? Cause I was kind of sleeping on the first day off that I'm had in months."

"I know. I'm sorry, but Rick wasn't answering his phone, and Catherine and Sara have all ready got a scene."

"Why do I have a feeling I won't like where this going?" Greg sighed, resigning himself to the fact that he was simply not allowed to a full day's sleep at home.

Grissom sounded apologetic, at least. "I need you to help process a scene. Dayshift's tapped out and I seem to be short a CSI."

Greg got up and walked over to a window. He pulled open the curtains, flooding his living room with bright sunlight. "Where is it?"

Gil gave an address and directions, along a brief description of the scene. Greg thanked him and hung up the phone. After storing what was left of the pizza in a nearly empty fridge, he ducked into the bathroom for a moment. He glanced into a mirror and saw a ragged, sleep deprived Greg Sanders staring blankly back at him.

He studied it for a moment and then quickly ran a comb through messy brown hair until it looked almost normal. After considering it for a moment he decided not to bother shaving. The address that his boss had given him suggested there wouldn't be too many people around, anyway.

Next, Greg brushed his teeth and went into a dark, untidy bedroom, almost tripping over an old skateboard as he entered. After finding some semi-professional looking clothes, he changed.

The dog looked at him as left the bedroom. Greg knelt down next to him and petted his furry friend. "Sorry, Buddy, but I have to go to work. I'll have the neighbor kid walk you later." The neighbor kid walked Greg's dog more often then Greg Sanders himself, but Buddy didn't mind. It whined at his owner.

Greg leaned close to him and noticed something that he should have much earlier. "Remind me to give you bath after shift. You smell like you've been rolling around in garbage." Buddy just wagged his tail.

Then he grabbed his wallet and keys and headed out the door. His field kit was fully stocked and all ready in the car, along with his ID and a light jacket.

On the way to the crime scene, Greg turned up the radio to full blast. It helped him to keep him awake.

After a quick pit stop to find something that would do a lot more to keep himself and his colleges awake, Greg arrived out in front an old mine.

Grissom was waiting for him. "You're late."

Greg did his best to look annoyed. "You called me out to the middle of nowhere on my day off, to crawl around a dark cave with a mummified body that's been dead for god knows how long, and you want to know why I'm late."

Grissom looked at him in shock, not expecting that kind response from the usually easygoing CSI.

"Well then, I'll tell you." Greg smirked, "I stopped to get coffee." He offered the confused supervisor a cup. "Sounds like challenge."

Grissom smiled back at him, accepting the coffee. "This would have nothing to do with the fact that you are dangerously close to becoming a Level III CSI."

"Of course not." Greg grinned back at his boss and followed him into the dark cave.

After a few minutes of walking down a wide, somewhat well lit tunnel, Gil led Greg down a narrow, twisting branch.

It seemed to end in a small cavern, which was completely dark save for the flashlights belonging to an edgy Nick Stokes and David Phelps, the assistant corner.

"Hey guys," Greg greeted his friends. "What's up?"

"Hi, Greggo." Nick almost jumped out his skin when a bug skittered over his boot. The dark cave was clearly making him nervous.

David glanced up from the body. "Hi. We've got a mummy here, no obvious C.O.D." He seemed fascinated by the gruesome discovery. "Vic appears to a young female, won't be able to tell you much more until the post."

Greg nodded, and took a better look around the chamber. It was barely big enough to contain the four of them and the body. He wondered why his boss put so many of then in here, unless Grissom wasn't planning on sticking around.

As if on cue, the supervisor's pager went off, echoing down the tunnel. Grissom looked at it. "All right guys. I've got another call." Grissom paused, taking in the nervous Nick, and then reached a decision. "Greg, I want you running point."

"What?" The other two hadn't expected this.

"You heard me."

Greg looked at him. "I'd ask why, but doubt that you would give a straight answer."

Nick didn't say anything, not even sure if there was anything to say. His friend was a good CSI, close to being promoted. And all Nick wanted to do was get out of the dark hole where they had found a mummy.

Gil smiled the young CSI. "Why not? You do think you're capable, don't you?"

Greg rolled his eyes. The bugman had a reason for everything that he did, even if he rarely shared it with anyone else. "I'd like to think that I am."

"So it's settled, then." Gil left the cave and headed out to the new scene. Nick was studying the cave floor for any sign of a struggle. After a few more minutes, David and the body left.

Greg swept his flashlight over the walls. A glint of something silver caught his eye. On the wall hind Nick, there was a small opening, about a third of the way up. He played his flashlight beam over it again.

There was definitely something in there. Nick gave him an odd look, but didn't say anything.

Sanders walked over to it and pointed out the object to Nick. "What is that?"

The big Texan looked him straight in the eye, "I have no idea." Greg looked from the opening to Nick. No way he was going to make him crawl through and get it.

"Guess I'll find out." Greg climbed up and scrambled through the opening. After crawling forward good fifteen or twenty yards, it was clear that he had found an aluminum baseball bat.

"Hit the jackpot." He called to Nick. "Possible murder weapon."

"Careful," was the only response that he got.

After a few seconds of struggling, and getting more dirt all over his clothes and everything else, he turned around and headed back the way he came.

Unexpectedly, a rat ran across Greg's foot, startling him. He instinctively jumped up, hitting his head on the roof. A very loud Norwegian curse followed.

"Greg?" Nick poked his head in. "You okay?"

"Just a rat." Sanders continued forward. He thought he heard footsteps entering the chamber.

After a few minutes, he reached the opening, and dropped down to the cave floor.

"Hello." Greg had unintentionally landed at the feet of a tall red haired man. A pretty young brunette that looked familiar stood behind him.

"Hi." Greg recovered from his surprise. "Nice shoes."

**A/N: I know, I have another fic to finish. I've been a little sidetracked writing the first draft of my first novel, (almost done! ********) I will soon, but this story just wouldn't go away and I decided to take a quick break from my other project. Thinking about making this slash, but haven't decided. I'll write more when I'm awake. Please let me know what you think. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: not mine**

**Spoilers: any episode that has all ready aired in the US**

LT. Caine looked down at the scruffy young CSI that had dropped at his feet, not sure what to make of his odd remark. "Hello, I'm Lt. Horatio Caine, from Miami-Dade County."

Nick surveyed the scene, forgetting the dark for a moment, and trying hard not to laugh at Greggo silly greeting.

Greg climbed to his own feet, suddenly aware of the fact that he was now covered in dust. It certainly made for an interesting first impression. "Hi, I'm…"

The brunette standing behind Caine interrupted him. "Greg Sanders. It's been a long time."

Greg finally remembered why she looked so familiar. "Natalia? What brings you out here?"

Caine answered, "Chasing down a lead. Your mummy fits the description of a young woman who has been missing from Miami for quite some time. Her family claimed that she had connections in Las Vegas."

Nick cut in. "And you think this is your girl."

Caine nodded. "Have you made an ID yet?"

"At this point it sounds like you know more then we do." Nick grinned at him. "I'm Nick Stokes, by the way."

Horatio nodded in greeting. Greg was still staring at Natalia, trying to think of what to say. The two hadn't seen each other in years.

"Uhm, Greg? Are you going to process that bat or just stand there?" Stokes snapped him out of it. "This is your case, remember."

"Right." Greg set down his flashlight and tested the bat to see if it had blood on it. "Positive for blood. This could be the murder weapon." He photographed the bat, and then bagged it to take it back to the lab.

The three CSI continued to process the scene in silence. Stokes looked around the cave floor, and found something very odd. "Did the hiker that found the body have a dog with him?"

Just then, Jim Brass appeared at the entrance, squinting to read his notes. "No. Why?"

"I just found a bunch of paw prints here. Looks like they come from a small dog, with a very odd gait. I'll take some impressions."

Greg walked over and studied them. "I bet they came from a Shetland Sheepdog."

"And how would you know that?"

"They walk more like a cat then a dog, by stepping toward the inside. They are the only breed that does that."

Jim looked at him.

Greg explained. "I happen to own one of them. Got him from a shelter a few years ago. Good dogs." He turned toward Horatio. "Did your missing person or your suspect have one?"

Caine nodded. "I believe so, Mr. Sanders. The young lady had a female Sheltie named Peanut registered with the AKC. She was a champion show dog. Our victim's family were dog breeders."

"So if we can prove that these prints came from her Sheltie, it makes the ID a little easier. I don't know if we'll be able to get one through DNA. Vic's been dead for a while, and the heat wouldn't have done us any favors." Greg thought out loud.

Nick nodded, "and if Peanut is a show dog, then she would be worth something. She may still be alive."

They were just finishing processing the scene when Greg noticed something else. There was some foreign soil in a few shoeprints leading up to the body. They were too big to be from David's boots, so he made some impressions and took samples, hoping that they would a get a suspect to match it to soon.

When the team finished, it was about two in the afternoon. Greg pulled his sunglasses out his pockets when they went outside, but it turned out that he didn't need them.

One look at the sky told him he should have packed in umbrella. On the rare occasion when was raining in Vegas, it poured. Greg was glad to be getting out. He had a feeling the crime scene would be underwater soon anyway.

His growling stomach suggested that a quick stop at Frank's Diner would be a good place to start comparing notes.

That suggestion went over pretty well with his colleges. Nick and Greg climbed into Greg's car and Horatio and Natalia accompanied Brass.

Nick shook his head when he saw the interior of Greg's old Volkswagen. "Dude, you really should clean out your car more often."

"At least no one will want to steal it." Sanders laughed. "Like yours is that much better."

Nick rolled his eyes, "Actually, Greggo…"

"Forget I said anything." Then he got a little more serious. "Any thoughts on the crime scene?"

Nick considered it for a moment. "I think that was just the dump site. I found shoeprints, but no sign of a struggle. What about you?"

"I agree. What I'm wondering about is the dog. Those paw prints won't do much good without it."

Nick replied, "What I want to know is where you know that girl from. She seems to know you."

"We met on spring break a long time ago. We hung out for a week, stayed friends for a few years, but kind of lost touch when I left San Francisco."

"Okay." Nick said.

"Now I get to ask you something."

Nick rolled his eyes. "If you must."

"Are you okay? You seem jumpy as a cat back in the cave."

Nick looked over at his friend. "I'm fine. Still don't like being underground, but I can deal. It's not that bad with someone else there anyway." _Especially someone that can joke about shoes after falling directly on the feet of another CSI and make it seem normal._

"Glad to hear it."

"I have one question."

"What?"

"Why did you tell Lt. Caine you like his shoes?"

Greg thought about it. "Because they were the only thing that I could see clearly."

"But now he thinks you're nuts." Nick shook his head.

"So?" Greg shrugged.

They pulled into the parking lot of Frank's. The Denali that Brass was driving was right out front. Sanders parked his car beside, and headed for their usual table by the window.

Brass waved them over. After ordering some French Toast, Greg got right into business.

Caine had all ready pulled out the case file.

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I intend to put up two chapters tomorrow, but no promises. Please leave some more reviews. I really do love hearing what you think.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: not mine. Not yours, either. :p**

**Spoilers: season seven **

Greg listened as Caine pulled out the case file for his missing person. There was a good chance that a hiker had found her while exploring an abandoned mine earlier that morning.

"Our victim's name is Ashley Burns. She left Miami with her boyfriend two months ago, and her family hasn't heard from her since. They said that they were a close family, and it wasn't like her to go that long without contacting them. Her boyfriend, Jack Ridley, runs a business out here, a mining company."

Greg smiled. "I take it he's our bet suspect."

"Her family suspected abuse." Natalia nodded, " And it's no secret that Jack had a nasty temper."

While they continued to compare notes, their food arrived.

In between bites, Greg told them all that they found at the scene. "I'm thinking that our guy dumped the body and murder weapon there. There was no evidence of a struggle in that cave."

"Which means that we're still looking for the primary crime scene, and that's probably months old." Horatio looked at Greg. "This isn't going to be easy."

Nick shook his head. "But it won't be impossible either."

Horatio gave a rare smile. "That's the answer I was hoping for. But one more thing. I want to get prosecution in Florida, for her family."

"As long as he goes away, that's fine by me." Greg said.

The check arrived a few minutes later, and then they headed out to the vehicles. In the parking lot, Brass pulled Greg aside for moment. "So Gil put you lead on this?"

"Yeah," Greg tried to sound causal.

"Any idea why?"

Greg shrugged. "Who knows Grissom does anything."

Jim nodded. "Well, good luck, Sanders. You're going to need it."

"I think I've all ready used up my fair share. Besides, it'll take more then just luck solve this." He laughed and walked away.

Nick met him and they walked toward Greg's car. "Dude, where's your car?"

Greg rolled his eyes. "You're hilarious." He playfully punched Nick on the arm. "Really."

Stokes just laughed and they climbed into the car and they proceeded to fight over the radio.

They all arrived at the lab a few minutes later. Greg ducked into the locker room to get some less dusty clothes and a quick shower. As he was trying to find something that didn't smell like the floater that he'd pulled out of Lake Mead last week, Warrick strolled into the locker room.

Greg decided to talk to him. "Hey Rick,"

Warrick glared at him. "What?" He seemed a little preoccupied.

"You didn't answer the call this morning. Something wrong?" Greg knew it wasn't like him to miss a call.

Warrick sighed. "Personal business. I take it they called you instead."

Greg nodded. "Yeah."

"I'll take your next night on call." Warrick offered.

"Fair enough, but I'd be more worried about what the Bugman has to say about it then me." Greg agreed. "Just a heads up." He walked off.

In a dark corner, Horatio watched the exchange. Maybe his own people could learn something from them Of course, it was also pretty clear that Sanders was a lot more forgiving then Ryan Wolfe anyway. He stepped out and said hello to Warrick.

"Lt. Caine." Rick looked at him. "What brings all the way out here?"

"Your friend's case actually."

Warrick looked at him in surprise. "Greggo's the primary?"

"Is that odd?"

"Only because he hasn't been in the field as long as the rest of us." Warrick told him. "Greg's a little goofy sometimes, but he's great CSI."

Caine nodded. Even if Sanders wasn't the most experienced CSI, it was clear that his co-workers had faith in him. He turned and head for the morgue.

**A/N: Sorry this one's a little short, but at least it's better then the last. Please leave a review and I may write the next chapter sooner. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: not mine.**

**Spoilers: Season seven**

After a quick shower to get rid of the dust from the mine, Greg hurried to get the autopsy on time. He just made one stop on the way to the morgue.

Greg stopped just outside the trace lab. "Hey Hodges, I've got something for you."

The lab rat looked at him suspiciously. "What is it?"

"Dirt." Greg smiled at him. "I need to find out where it came from." Hodges just rolled his eyes.

"Just what I've always wanted." He said.

"Don't say I never gave you anything." Greg hurried to the morgue. "I'm late for an autopsy."

Horatio and Doc Robbins were waiting for him. The mummy was lying on the slab in front of them.

Greg stepped forward for a better look. Because of the poor light back in the cave, he hadn't been able to see her clearly.

The mummy itself was a very well preserved young women. Greg thought that she would have been beautiful when she was still alive, expect for the frozen scream on her face.

Doc Robbins finally spoke. "The mummy is consistent with the description of Ashley Burns, and the dental records confirmed."

"Looks like she died violently." Greg remarked.

Robbins nodded. "COD is blunt force trauma to the head. She was very well preserved, thanks to the high temperature and the salt content of the soil."

"Nick and I found a baseball bat at he scene. Could that have done the damage?"

The doctor nodded again. "When I examined the body, I also found evidence that she was in a long term abusive relationship."

"Her family suspected as much." Lt. Caine chimed in. "Did you run a sexual assault kit?"

"Yes. There were signs of rape, but after all this time, I don't know if DNA will be able to find anything."

"Anything else we should know about?" Greg asked.

"She was pregnant." Doc Robbins said. "About three months."

Greg and Horatio looked at each other. "We need to find out who the father is."

Robbins had one more thing to add. "I also found dog hairs all over her."

Sanders nodded. "She owned a Shetland Sheepdog. We're still looking for it."

The two of them left morgue with more questions then answers. Greg was a little disturbed by what they found. He needed to catch this monster before he struck again.

He ducked into the DNA lab to find Natalia and Wendy talking about something. "Did you find anything?"

Wendy nodded. "DNA from the sex assault kit is viable, but it may take awhile to process. Do you have something to compare it to?"

"Not yet, but keep me posted." Greg replied.

Natalia looked over at him. "Can I talk to you for a second?" Wendy found something interesting to look at on the other side of the lab.

"What's up?"

"I never thanked you for what you did before."

Greg shrugged. " I was happy to help. I'm just glad that you're okay, and doing a lot better now." He smiled at her.

Natalia leaned closer to him. "Thanks to you."

Nick walked about ten seconds later, causing both of them to jump as if they'd been caught doing they shouldn't.

"Greg?"

Sanders looked up, annoyed by his friend's timing. "Did you get anything from the bat?"

"Blood sample's been sent to DNA, but I doubt that we'll get a hit in CODIS." He shook his head, "The last person to touch it doesn't have a record."

"So you got some prints."

Nick nodded. "But we still need a suspect to compare them."

Horatio walked into the room. "And you've got the same problem I did."

"Not enough to bring in the boyfriend." Natalia said.

Greg shook his head. "Not enough to hold him. I still think that he and Brass need to have a little chat."

"New evidence in an old case," Nick agreed. "There's no reason that we can't just talk."

After yet another cup of coffee, Greg Sanders was standing in an interrogation room with Brass and Jack Ripley, watching him carefully, and taking note of the dirt on the suspect's shoes. Nick and Lt. Caine were watching from behind the one-way glass.

"So, we found your girlfriend." Brass said. "Funny that you never reported her missing."

Jack squirmed in his seat. "This is harassment. You people questioned me months ago, and didn't come up anything." He crossed his arms defiantly.

"That was before she turned up dead." Brass countered. "When was the last time you saw her."

"I'm not talking to you without a lawyer."

Greg glared at him from across the table. "I don't need you to talk me. Ashley will tell us everything we need to know." To Brass, he said "Shoes are a plain view item, right?"

Jim nodded. "Yeah."

Sanders turned back the suspect. "I need to see the bottom of your shoes."

"All right, but I don't know what you thing you're going to find." He put his feet up on the table.

Greg took a sample from the bottom of it, hoping that Hodges could get a match from it. He then asked for fingerprints and DNA. 

"Not without a warrant." Jack responded. He got up from his seat. "It's been fun, but if you had enough to hold me I'd be under arrest all ready. Good bye."

Jim watched. "Don't go to far, pal."

Then, he and Greg both followed him out. A familiar man stopped them.

"What hell do you think you're doing Sanders? You have no evidence to suggest that Jack Ripley was even involved."

Nick and Horatio joined them. Nick glared at under sheriff McKean. "This wouldn't have anything to do with the campaign contribution that his father's mining company gave you?" he challenged.

McKean glared at him. "You had no right to question him. The media is all over this. I don't need you people harassing…"

Greg turned to Nick. "This is my case. I can handle this." Then he focused his attention to the angry politician. "He was one of the last people to see Ashley alive, and we are trying to find out if there's any new evidence around."

Jeff McKean was not impressed. "Is this about what I said to you when…"

Furious, Sanders cut him off. "This isn't me or you, or even who's paying for your re-election. This about finding out who raped and murdered her!" He pulled out an autopsy photo of Ashley Burns and shoved it toward Jeff, hoping that pictures would be for effective then words.

McKean back away. "I'll be taking to your supervisor, Sanders."

The others just stared at Greg, having never seen him act like that before. Horatio looked at him. "What was that all about?"

Greg sighed. "It's kind of long story." He walked off, to get some more caffeine and calm down before Grissom called him. He fully expected to be pulled off the case.

Brass followed him. "Where the hell did that come from?" He had heard Greg raise his voice less then a half dozen times in the years they'd worked together, and never without good reason.

"I don't know." Exasperated, Greg shrugged. "Grissom's gonna be pissed."

Jim smiled at him. "I think he'd be more pissed if you backed off. All you did was your job."

"Try telling that to McKean."

"Just between you and me, that asshole deserved it." Brass shrugged. He was impressed that Greg had stood up for himself.

Greg looked at him. "We've still got a lot of work to do." He went to the trace lab to give Hodges the soil sample from Jack's shoes and to check on the progress of the other samples. It was the best chance for finding a primary crime scene.

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Please tell me what you think. I hope to have another chapter up later tonight. I've got a good idea of where this is going, and the next chapter will have quite a bang. By the way, this will be more of a Nick/Greg friendship fic, but you can read more into it if you want. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: don't own it.**

**Spoilers: season seven**

Greg Sanders drained the last of his coffee from the mug, then went over to the trace lab, to see if Hodges had made any progress with his soil samples. They needed to find the primary crime quickly.

Hodges looked over at the lab rat turned CSI. "Heard you told off the under sheriff. Not the best career move, if you ask me."

_That was quick, Greg thought. I yelled at him less then ten minutes ago and it's all over the lab. _To Hodges, he said, "I'm not asking you. Now where are you with my dirt?"

The trace shrugged, a little miffed that Greg didn't want to play right now. "The sample contained a mineral found near an office that your suspect's father owns."

"Thank you." He handed Hodges the sample from Jack's shoes. "See if you can match it with this." Sanders grabbed a copy of the report off the printer and went to find his boss. He knew that Grissom would be a lot more upset if he heard from McKean our somebody else before Greg told him about what happened.

Grissom himself was reading something in his office. As Greg opened the door, the Billy Bass that was above the frame began to sing.

Gil looked at him. "There's something I need to talk to you about…" Greg started.

Then Grissom's phone went off. "Hang on."

Greg fought back a groan. He would bet his entire supply of Blue Hawaiian coffee that McKean was on the other line.

After listening for a few seconds, Gil's eyes went up to Greg, first confused, then a little exasperated. "I think he's out in the field at the moment, but I'll talk to him as soon as he comes back." Then he hung up the phone.

"What happened? McKean said that you were insubordinate, and wants me to suspend you, or least pull you off the case. He thinks that you have a problem with authority."

Greg sighed. "I have a problem with political assholes." He explained the situation, and the details of the case.

Grissom looked over at him. "Well, at least you came to me." He paused, then tried to figure out his next move. You said that you've got a lead. Go check it out. Let me deal with McKean."

"I'm still on case?" Greg was surprised.

Grissom nodded. "You didn't do anything wrong." He grinned at his youngest CSI. "Nick called right before you got here. He wanted to make sure that I knew what really happened. Just do one thing for me."

"What?"

"Next time, let me yell at the annoying politicians."

Greg rolled his eyes and thanked his boss before heading out the door. He hurried out before Grissom changed his mind.

Nick was waiting for him in the parking lot, along with Horatio and Brass.

"I heard that Hodges has a lead on our primary crime scene."

Greg nodded. "Was just going to page you. We need something get something to hold on, and fast."

"Then let's get going." Horatio led the way to one of the department Denalis.

Nick made a beeline for the driver's seat, but Greg beat him to it. "My case, I'm driving." Stokes just rolled his eyes and climbed into the back.

Brass and Horatio exchanged an amused look. It was going to be a long drive to the scene. After a few arguments, they put a classic rock station on the radio, and then turned on the air conditioner. They didn't say much on the way out to the old office building.

When they finally got there, the sun was starting to set. The building itself was sitting on the edge of the dessert. It looked empty and abandoned.

They pulled up to it and climbed out of the truck. Jim and Horatio enter first, with their guns drawn. Nick stood just behind them with his own weapon.

Greg hung back a little bit until they cleared the scene, as he was unarmed. After confirming that they were alone in the building, Sanders, Nick, and Lt. Caine searched the building, looking for any evidence that this was where the murder had taken place.

After a few minutes, Jim's phone went off. He went outside to get a clearer signal.

Nick went to check the second floor while Greg and Horatio searched the offices on the first floor. Greg noticed that a lock on one of the doors was broken. It was clear that somebody had forced his or her way in.

The dust around it wasn't as thick as the rest of the building, either. Greg thought that he had found the primary scene. He looked over at Horatio. He was on the other side of the building, out of hearing range. Greg shook his head and opened the door.

He could see there were signs a of struggle in the room. There was an odd smell in the air that lent an ominous feeling to the room, though Greg could figure out why it was He could see blood spatter on the walls and furniture. He photographed it and swabbed a few samples, figuring that Ashley must have been trying to run during the attack. Doc Robbins had mentioned that she had defensive wounds.

After putting the swabs back into his kit, Greg picked up the camera again. He had noticed some shoeprints in the dust. They seemed to be about the same size as the ones Nick had found at the dump site.

Then, he followed them over to a file cabinet. He dusted for prints on the draw handles, finding some on the bottom drawer. Greg lifted them and opened it. What he saw made his blood run cold.

It looked like a bomb. Greg fought back panic. He knew he didn't have much time left before it went off, and now realized why the smell in room was bothering him so much.

Thinking quickly, Greg took a few photographs to reference later and then shut off his camera. He then pulled out the SD card and put it in a pocket, figuring that it had a better chance of escaping damage then the entire camera.

He closed up his kit to try and protect the contents and then ran out to find Horatio and Nick.

Horatio heard Greg yelling and ran over, asking him what was wrong.

"We need to find Nick and get out here right now. No time to explain." Greg was surprised by how calm he sounded.

Horatio nodded. "I think he went upstairs." The two of them turned toward the stairs.

Then the bomb exploded. Greg was knocked to the floor, hit by a piece of flying debris. He put up his hand to protect his face just as something else collided with it. The object was burning hot.

After a second or two, Sanders forced himself to move. He was terrified, but was more worried about Nick. He felt a twinge through his ribs as he climbed up, but he had more important things to worry about.

The air was filled with smoke. Greg could barely make out Horatio lying two feet away from him. He went over and helped him up. By now the entire building was on fire, and they still had one person unaccounted for.

Nick. Greg and Horatio ran over to where the stairs used to be. The floor above them had partially collapsed. It was hard to see anything in the thick smoke, but Greg finally saw his friend, pinned under some heavy beams. He looked more or less okay.

Greg led the way over to help him. He paused a moment when the smoke started to making him a little woozy. Then he and Horatio reached Nick.

Working together, the two of them managed to free him. They had just pulled him out when a loud crash informed them that they were running out of time.

Greg tried to help Nick up, but Stokes outweighed him by a good fifty pounds. There was no way Greg could get him out alone.

Caine saw the problem and walked over to Nick's other side. The two them managed to get him outside, where Brass had all ready called for help.

The last thing that Greg remembered was hearing the sirens approach as he lost conciseness.

**A/N: Sorry to leave you there, but I have to go. The next one will be up tomorrow. Thank you for reviewing. I really do love to read them. Maybe the cliffhanger will get more of you to do it. LOL Please let me know what you think. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: not mine (still)**

**Spoilers: season seven**

Greg cautiously opened his eyes. He found himself lying on a stretcher. His ears were still ringing as he tried to get his bearings. He attempted to sit up, but was stopped by a painful twinge through his ribs. Moving seemed to be a bad idea at the moment.

Sanders lay back down, shivering. It was freezing out here. He could hear people shouting, as he remembered what had just happened. His head was killing him. He took a deep breath. The night air felt good despite the cold.

He then decided to try and get up again. Greg shivered, ignoring the pain as he struggled to get a better look at what was going on around him. They had found the primary crime scene only to have it explode. He remembered trying to find Nick, that his friend had been hurt.

He staggered to his feet, wanting to figure out what was going on. After a quick look around, Greg saw Horatio talking to some paramedics a few feet away. He limped over to see what was happening.

It still hurt to move, but Greg was feeling a little better now that he was on feet again. After Horatio was done talking to the paramedic, Greg went over to him. "Hey."

"Good to see that you're up again." Horatio smiled at him. "You okay?"

"More or less." Greg said, surprised at how raspy his voice had sounded. "Is Nick okay?"

"He's with the paramedics now. They said his injuries were pretty minor." Horatio turned toward Greg, who was visibly shaking. "You sure that you're all right?"

"Just cold." Greg looked back at him. He shrugged. "First time I found an exploding crime scene."

"Happens to me all the time." Horatio said. They were interrupted by the arrival of two department Denalis.

Horatio went to greet the new arrivals, while Greg went to find Nick. It wasn't that difficult.

Nick was with two paramedics trying to explain that he didn't need to go to the hospital. "I'm fine!" the Texan insisted.

Then he saw Greg watching a few feet away. "Hey, Greggo. You all right?"

Greg rolled his eyes. "I'm f-fine." He couldn't tell if he was shaking from the cold or from rattled nerves. Either way, between that and the sore throat, it was hard to talk.

Nick studied his friend for a moment, noticing a nasty looking burn on Greg's arm and a cut over his right eye. He was also shaking like a leaf. "You don't sound fine, G. You must be freezing." He offered Greg his jacket.

From the way Greg put it on, Stokes knew that was Greg hurt a lot worse then he pretended to be. "You defiantly not fine." Nick told him.

'Nick…" The last thing Greg wanted was to be made to go home. Nick shook his head and gently poked Greg in the ribs. "Ow!" Greg yelped before he could stop himself. "Okay, point made. Just don't do that again."

"Medic!" Nick's shout brought over Hank Pettigrew, EMT, and their friend Sara's ex. Greg grudgingly allowed him to look at his injuries.

"Let's see, minor burns and lacerations to the forearm. Then he looked over at the cut on Greg's face. It wasn't that deep, so Hank just bandaged it. "Are you injured anywhere else?"

After an annoyed look from Nick, Greg took off the jacket that Nick had loaned him and his shirt to let Hank examine his ribs. "I think something hit me when the bomb went off."

"Doesn't look broken, but you really should go to hospital to make sure, or at least get some rest. You don't look so good."

Sanders rolled his eyes. "I'll take that under advisement after we catch the psycho who did this. By the way, could you take a look at my friend here? He was out cold when Lt. Caine and I got him out of there."

Hank did. "Nick seems to have a minor concussion and injuries to his leg. Nothing that serious, but it's my professional opinion that neither of you should be working right now." He walked away, knowing that they would completely ignore his advice.

Greg grabbed his shirt and the coat Nick had loaned him. "We should go see hat the others are doing." He told Nick about the Denali's arriving.

The two of them limped over to see what was going on. Grissom, Warrick, and Natalia greeted them. Horatio was also waiting for them.

"Hi, boss." Greg said. "I've got good news and bad news."

Grissom shook his head. Only Greg would come up with something like that.

"The good news is this is our primary crime scene."

"And?"

"The bad news is it exploded."

**A/N sorry this so late, but I've been kind of busy. I will try and update again early tomorrow. Thank you for the reviews. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: not mine**

**Spoilers: season 7**

Grissom rolled his eyes. Only Greg would make a joke about this. He studied his employee for a few seconds, noticing the obvious injuries. "Are you guys all right?" he asked Nick and Greg.

Greg shrugged. "Just a little singed, but I think I'll live."

'And I'm all right, thanks to Greg and Lt. Caine." Nick said. "I'd have been stuck in there if weren't for them."

Jim walked over and interrupted them. "Horatio, Nicky and Greggo need to give Sophia their statements, as they were inside when the building exploded."

Greg looked over at the burning office building. "That's going take forever to process, assuming there's anything left related to the original crime."

Grissom looked at him. "Go make your statements. There's nothing we can do until they put out the fire anyway."

Greg remembered the SD card from his camera. He pulled it out of his pocket and showed his boss. "I did get a few pictures before the bomb went off. There was… "

Sophia, who had followed Jim over to them, cut him off. "Greg, I need to get a statement from you, Nick, and Lt. Caine. There isn't much you can do until the fire's out anyway."

Greg sighed and followed her over to a quieter spot. He figured that it would be better to just get this over with so he could get back to his case, on the off chance Grissom hadn't come to simply take it over. He quickly told Sophia what happened and then rejoined his colleges.

Nick then followed Sophia to give his own statement. Grissom, meanwhile, had just Horatio tell him what exactly had happened. He was impressed that Greg had found the bomb and not panicked.

"Lt. Caine tells me hat you were the one that found the bomb."

Greg nodded. "It was in a file cabinet. I opened it because there were prints on the handle. That must've been what triggered it. I guess that we'll know more after we put it back together."

Grissom looked at him. "Sounds like you did a good trying to get everyone out of there. It could have been a lot worse."

The young CSI smirked. "Well, I figured that running and screaming wouldn't have been helpful, much as I wanted to."

Grissom actually smiled. "So, now hat are you going to do?"

"Well, I'll take the room where the bomb went off. I don't know if there's anything left, but I did have some swabs and print lifts in my kit. If my luck is any better then it has been all day, the case should have protected them. Even if they didn't, I do have some pictures of before the bomb went off, and a shot of the bomb itself. That'll make it easier to put the pieces back together." He paused.

Horatio nodded. "I can help you out with that. I know a lot about bombs."

Greg nodded. "Good. The rest of you guys can process whatever's left of the building. It is pretty unstable, so be careful. Work in sections, and keep in mind the whole building could come down if we're not careful. The fireman have probably left us a real mess, so this is going to take awhile." He continued to outline his plan, with Grissom watching.

"Sounds like you've got this under control."

"As far as I know, it's still my case." Greg looked him in the eye.

Grissom nodded. "It is."

The team watched as the fireman got the blaze under control. When it was finally out, the team got to work.

Rick and Natalia discovered that Greg's kit had been blown well away from the worst of the fire in the blast. It was mostly in tact.

Grissom and Nick helped process as well, taking the perimeter and doing the sketch.

Greg and Horatio found the bomb components and bagged them, along with anything else that looked important.

It took a while, but under Greg's direction, they processed the scene and headed back to lab.

Greg himself was still a bit rattled by the explosion, but forced himself to focus on the task at hand. Caine saw that he was a little jumpy, but really didn't blame him. It had been one of those days.

**A/N sorry it's so short, but thank you very much for reviewing! I'll write a longer one tomorrow, I think I've figured out how this will work itself out. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: not mine. **

**Spoilers: Season seven**

After the team finished processing, Greg was exhausted. He was all ready well unto his third shift, and hadn't gotten a proper day's sleep in weeks.

After loading all the evidence that they had collected from the scene, Greg decided that there was no way that he was driving back to the lab. He could barely keep his eyes open, and was still a bit shaken from the explosion. He tossed Natalia his keys.

"Feel like driving home?"

Natalia smiled. "Sure, it'll give us a chance to catch up on things."

Nick walked over and joined them. "Hey guys, mind if join you? Warrick drives like a lunatic, and I've had enough excitement for one night."

"No problem." Greg had just about given up hope catching Natalia alone for a moment. He collapsed into the passenger's seat and closed his eyes, hoping for a few minutes of relaxation before they got back to the lab and back to work.

"So how's life?" Greg asked, mostly to keep awake.

Natalia said, "Well, let's see. My ex, I'm sure you remember him, and not a good way, got a job as crime scene clean up. Then somebody kills him, and I'm a suspect. After that, a friend of mine get shot, and another friend was fired and rehired again."

Greg opened his eyes. "Almost sorry that I asked. My turn to be melodramatic. Let's see, I saved a guy's life and get my ass asked kicked and lawsuit for my trouble, because I wouldn't let a mob of mostly kids beat a guy to death because they're bored. Then my boss thanks off for a month, and in the meantime we all got to work with a guy even weirder then he is, and he's killed in the line of duty, but that's another story. And to top it all off, the under sheriff hates me for reasons I don't even want to understand, and a suspect bit me while I was trying to get a DNA sample because she I thought that I was a lizard from outer space."

After a few seconds of shocked silence, all three of the car's occupants started to laugh. Then Nick cut in. "Something tells me you guys know each other and did more then just hang out for a week."

Natalia asked Greg, "You didn't tell him, did you?"

Greg rolled his eyes. "Despite popular belief, I can keep a secret if asked to."

"At this point it really doesn't matter anyway." Natalia said, "When Greg and I met, I was in a bad situation. Your friend helped me get out it. That's really all that you need to know."

"Okay." Nick infinitely curious, but this was really none of his business anyway.

Then, the subject changed to the case that they were working on.

When they finally reached the lab, Greg figured that he could use a quick snack before working and ducked into the break room. He grabbed a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream and sat the table, deciding on his next move.

Caine walked and looked over at the younger CSI. "Now that looks interesting. I hope that's not dinner."

Sanders smiled at him. "This is the never-fail cure for rattled nerves. Want some?"

"No thanks." Cain shook his head and poured himself some coffee. "I didn't know that ice cream could cure anything."

"You should try sometime, especially if you've been running on nothing but caffeine and adrenaline for the past week."

Horatio looked over at him. "Hodges got back the results on the soil comparison. We have a match."

"Great. That should get us a warrant for Jack Ridley's DNA and prints. I'll have Brass bring him in. We should get started on processing the evidence from the office building." Greg finished his ice cream and started making phone calls.

**A/N still a short chapter, but I haven't got as much time as I would like. Thank you for the reviews. Should be two or three more chapters, and I think the next one will show where this is going. Please leave a review. Thanks, Lefty. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: CSI belongs to someone else, who is a lot richer then me. **

**Spoilers: season seven**

After Greg hung up the phone, he knew that he needed to get started on processing what they had found from the office building. He knew that he needed the case to be airtight to make an arrest, especially with the under sheriff's connections to the suspect's family.

He headed into the layout room, where Horatio was piecing together the bomb that had destroyed their crime scene, but not before Sanders got some evidence from the room, including prints, DNA and some photos of the scene.

Horatio was using one of the those photos to reconstruct the bomb. Greg poked his head in to see what he learned from it so far.

"Hi." Greg said from the doorway. He walked over to him. "Making progress?"

Horatio looked up from his work. "Actually, yes. The bomb itself fairly simple. I think that opening the drawer is what set off the timing device." He showed Greg the remains of a charred clock face.

Greg nodded. "That's what I thought."

Lt. Caine continued. "What I found odd was the explosive material used in it the bomb itself. I couldn't identify it, so I gave a sample to your trace tech."

"It sounds like something unique. That should make it a lot easier to prove who made it and tried to destroy us and the evidence." Greg smiled, despite his exhaustion. He knew that they were getting close. He thanked Horatio and headed to the fingerprint lab to drop off the prints from the sample. Mandy would have something to compare them to soon enough.

Then he decided to pay a visit to the DNA lab, with the swabs he had collected from the orignal crime scene. Greg also wanted to check on the samples from Ashley Burns to see if the killer was in CODIS, though Greg was all ready sure that the suspect wasn't.

Both Wendy and Natalia were waiting for him.

"I really hope you guys have something." Greg said.

Wendy nodded. "All I can tell you is that whoever raped her was also the father of her child."

"But no hits CODIS." Greg guessed.

Natalia said, "Not yet, anyway."

"Brass is working on a warrant for Jack Ripley's DNA. In the meantime, could you please compare the blood that I found at the scene to our victim."

"No problem."

Greg thanked the two of them and went to check his photo of the crime.

After the explosion, it was all they had to work with. Sanders graded his iPod and got to work. He studied the photos intently. It looked like the victim had tried to run, judging from the amount of spatter on all the walls and surrounding furniture.

It was most concentrated in one corner, low to ground. _Must've been where she lost conciseness. _Greg's thoughts were interrupted when someone tapped him the shoulder.

Over tired and all ready on edge, Greg flinched, only to find himself face to face with Nick Stokes. He shut off the iPod and yanked out his ear buds. "Dude, don't sneak up on people. It's not nice." Greg muttered once his heartbeat returned to normal.

"Sorry." Nick apologized. "I wanted to talk to you."

"What's up?"

"I just wanted to thank you for what you and Horatio did earlier. If it weren't for you I'd have never gotten out of there."

Greg tried not to blush. "We couldn't just leave you there. Besides, you'd have done the same thing for anybody."

Nick continued, "Also looks like I'm not the only one who's a little jumpy of late. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'll be better when we solve this, but I'm okay for moment."

"Yeah, you're doing a great job with case. We're just waiting on that warrant.

Greg smiled. "Then I think I'll sleep for a about a week."

A few seconds later, Greg was being paged the front desk

Nick looked at him. "What's that all about?"

"Paw prints." Greg informed him, and headed out to grab Buddy for an experiment. Curious now, Stokes followed him.

His neighbor was waiting for him. "Brought him down for you. By the way, I gave him a bath. He smelled like a skunk that's been dead for a week."

"Thanks, Jimmy." Greg took the leash from him and walked over to the garage with Buddy and Nick in tow.

**A/N: I know that I'm little late, but here's the next chapter. I'm also thoroughly annoyed that I caught my mom watching Grey's Anatomy. It took every bit of self control not to grab the remote and well, that just would've been nasty. Anyhow, thanks for the reviews. Please tell m what you think.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: CSI belongs to someone else. **

**Spoilers: Season 7 **

Nick looked at Greg and Buddy. "I take that's your dog."

"He's going to help me prove the paw prints we found came from a Sheltie. If Jack happens to have Peanut, this'll put him at the dump site. Dog couldn't get out there by itself."

The three out them reached the garage. Greg clipped buddy's leash to a table and found the crime scene photos of the prints from the scene. Then Greg turned his attention to the dog.

Buddy wagged his tail and yelped happily. Unfortunately, another trait of Shelties was the uncanny ability to be heard at least five blocks away.

"Shut it." Greg muttered, not wanting the entire lab to hear what he was up to just yet.

Nick laughed. "Why is it that the smaller the dog, the louder they bark?"

"Beats me." Sanders set up a roll of paper on the floor to have his dog run across, and set up another get him to walk. Then he led Buddy over to On side of the first roll. Nick held him while Greg put ink on the bottoms of paws. It was very difficult, as the animal kept trying to lick both nick and his owner.

Stokes laughed. "You know, one of my Dad's neighbors had a dog like that to herd his sheep and horses. Everyone thought he nuts, but the dog was good at his job, ate less then the border collies, and was a friendlier."

Greg shook his head and walked to the other end of the paper. "Let him go when I whistle."

Nick nodded, and after a few seconds, Greg gave an odd chirping whistle. Stokes released Buddy. The little dog trotted right over to his owner, barking the whole way.

Sara walked into the garage. "I thought I heard a dog barking."

Buddy tried to jump out of Greg's arms and greet Sara, accidentally kicking Greg in his all ready sore ribs. Sanders immediately dropped him, hissing in pain.

"You all right?" Sara was concerned for her friend.

Greg looked up at her. "Fine. There was a little excitement earlier tonight, but I'll live."

Nick was also worried. "You really should make sure that those ribs aren't broken, G."

"I'm okay." Greg insisted. He took Buddy by the collar and led him back across the room.

"Please don't tell me that you're experimenting on your dog."

"Just borrowing his paws for a moment." Greg reapplied the ink to Buddy's paws and led him down the second roll of paper. Then, he wiped his dog's paws.

Sara was a little curious. "What exactly are you trying to prove?"

"Our killer dognapped a Sheltie belonging to the victim. She left prints at the scene. I'm just proving that the prints belonged to a Shetland Sheepdog. The killer may still be keeping the victim's champion Sheltie." Greg explained.

Sara nodded and scratched Buddy behind his ears. He licked her hand. "Cute little thing aren't you?"

Buddy wagged his tail. Greg asked her for a favor. "Can you keep an eye on him for a couple of hours? We're still waiting for a warrant, and Buddy really shouldn't be in the lab. He's shedding like crazy and the last thing I need is Grissom yelling at me for letting him run loose."

"As long as he's housebroken and doesn't mind other dogs." Sara was thinking of the Boxer that she and Grissom owned.

"Shouldn't be a problem." Buddy liked other dogs. "Thanks." Greg handed her Buddy's leash.

The cell phone in pocket buzzed. Greg pulled it out and spoke to whoever was one the other line for a few minutes. "Thanks, Brass." He said, then hung up..

"Our warrant came through." Greg announced. "We need to get going."

**A/N: sorry it's so short. Right now it's too hot and too late at night to focus. I will put up another soon. Please leave some reviews. It'll help me write the next chapter faster if I hear from you. Thanks. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: don't own CSI. Wish I did, at least we wouldn't have annoying cliffhangers all summer, and I might actually have money. **

**Spoilers: season seven**

Greg was still in no mood to drive, so he climbed into the passenger's seat of the Denali beside Brass. Nick and Horatio sat in the back.

It was a short, quiet trip to Jack Ripley's apartment. They left quickly, not wanting to attract the attention of the under sheriff on the way out.

Greg stared out the window, hoping that this went smoothly. He was too close to proving who the killer was to screw this up now. He was only half listening as Brass reminded them that Jack had a very nasty temper, and that he wasn't likely to come quietly.

They finally pulled into the parking lot of the suspect's building. The four them headed up the stairs to his doorway. Those who carried weapons had pulled them out, while Sanders hung back a little bit, thinking that he really should get a gun soon. Being the only one who wasn't carrying was starting to become a liability.

They reached Jack's door and knocked, with Brass shouting, "LVPD, Open up!"

No response, unless you counted the distinct yelping of a Shetland Sheepdog. Brass nodded to Nick. Stokes kicked in the door.

The apartment looked empty, save for the dog running around and barking. She looked like Buddy, only a little smaller. The room that the four of them entered seemed to be a living room, complete with leather sofa and plasma TV mounted on the wall.

"Looks clear." Brass commented. He ducked into a bedroom to make sure that the guy wasn't waiting for them inside.

Nick and Horatio went to check behind another door, leaving Greg alone in the living room. He looked around the room, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Just a TV, couch, coffee table, and DVD player. Greg still felt exposed, like someone was watching him.

Heavy footsteps thudded in the hall behind the open door. Greg turned around to find himself staring down the muzzle of Jack Ripley's Desert Eagle fifty-caliber handgun.

_Of course. _Greg sighed. _Definitely should get myself a gun. _Jack glared at him. "What the hell are you people doing in my apartment?"

"Sir, we have a warrant." Greg was surprised at how steady his voice sounded.

The two of them locked eyes for a moment. Greg was terrified. He needed help now.

Ripley seemed to be reading his thoughts. "Open your mouth and you'll be dead before you can scream."

Sanders didn't trust him to respond. Fortunately for him, Brass reentered the living room. It took the detective less then a minute to assess the situation.

"Let him go, Jack. You shoot him and there's no way that you're walking out here. We've all ready got you for murder. "

Jack grabbed Greg's shoulder and dragged him closer. He put the gun against his temple and glared over at Jim. "I let him go and I still won't get out here. How about you drop the gun and I think about letting your little friend live to fight another day."

Greg tried to wriggle free, but only succeeded in earning himself a hard smack from the butt of Jack's gun. That made Sanders more pissed off then scared.

Nick and Horatio appeared out of nowhere, with guns drawn. Jim continued to talk to the suspect. "You aren't leaving here either way. Why not make it easier on yourself?"

"How? If I shoot him are you going to give the death penalty twice?" Jack laughed.

Greg took advantage of the distraction and stomped on his foot as hard as could. Jack yelped in pain but didn't drop the gun. Greg grabbed for it and wound up with a tight grip Jack's wrist. He tried to point the gun away from himself and his friends.

As the two of them struggled for it, the huge handgun went off. It was one of the loudest sounds that Sanders had ever heard. He wasn't sure what happened next, except that his arm hurt like hell and he could smell smoke and gunpowder in the air.

Greg finally managed to get the guy down and kick the gun across the room. He looked up at his colleges. "Would one of you help me cuff this guy before he remembers that he outweighs me by at least fifty pounds?!"

That seemed to snap Nick out of the shock from seeing one of his best friends with a gun to his head. He and Brass stepped forward and cuffed their killer while Caine called the paramedics.

Brass yanked Jack to his feet while Nick helped Greg. The young CSI was bleeding pretty badly, but one look at the injury told Nick that it could have been a lot worse. It looked like the shot had only grazed Greg's arm.

Greg was still losing blood at an alarming rate and the struggle had aggravated his injured ribs as well.

The paramedics arrived within minutes. It turned out that Hank had been the one to respond to this call as well.

"Can't you stay out trouble?" Pettigrew muttered. He got the wound on Greg's arm to stop bleeding without too much trouble.

Greg shrugged as best he could. "Guess not."

Hank rolled his eyes. "I suppose that it's pointless to ask you to go to hospital?"

"You suppose right."

Nick shook his head. "I'll drag his ass down there as some as we close this case." Greg glared at him, but didn't protest. He knew that he probably hurt worse then he thought, anyway. They were close to solving this anyway.

**A/N: One-maybe two more to go. Thank you for all the reviews. I like hearing from you guys, so please keep them coming. -Lefty **


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: CSI is not mine, and unless I win the lottery or something, it won't be anytime soon.**

**Spoilers: Season seven. **

Greg watched the black and white police car pull away from the curb. The case was more or less solved, but the team still had a few lose ends to tie up back at the lab. Even if he and Brass got a confession, they still needed the evidence to prove it.

Nick stood beside him. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. " As much as he appreciated Nick's concern, Greg was getting tired of being asked that. A glance at his watch told him that it had been almost twenty-four hours since Grissom had woken him. Greg was tired, period.

"At least we should be able to wrap this up soon." Stokes said. They were just waiting on DNA and fingerprints, now that they had a suspect to compare them to.

Greg nodded. "We should get back to the lab." After all that happened to him that night, he just wanted to solve this beyond reasonable doubt. Then he wanted to sleep for a week.

The pair walked over to the car, where Horatio was waiting, along with Peanut, the victim's dog.

"Put her in the back seat. I'll hold her." Greg got into the vehicle. The little dog jumped into his lap as Nick took the driver's seat.

Lt. Caine settled in the passenger's seat. Brass had gone in the black and white with Jack Ripley, after Nick got fingerprints and a DNA sample. They would have him for murder after they matched them back at the lab.

Of course, they still needed to ID their bomber. To that end, Horatio had sent some of the components to Mandy, hoping the guy that had tried to destroy evidence and a few CSI's had left some prints behind.

On the way back to the lab, Peanut jumped in Greg's lap and went to sleep. Sanders was too tired to fight her, even if she was shedding on his clothes.

The ride back to lab was quiet, everyone trying to digest what happened at the seen. It wasn't the first time Greg had gotten hurt at a scene, but no one had put a gun to his head before. That had rattled him more then anything. Defiantly need to get myself a gun, Greg decided.

Grissom was waiting for them in the parking lot, worried about his team.

"I heard that there was a bit of excitement at the crime scene." An understatement, but the CSIs wouldn't expect anything else.

Greg explained. "The suspect was out of the apartment when we first went in. He snuck in behind me and pulled out a gun. Brass and the others came back into the living room and Brass tried to talk him down. Suspect hit me in the head, and when he was distracted for few seconds, I attempted to disarm him. Gun went of in the struggle, and the bullet grazed my arm, but nobody was seriously hurt."

"You sure that you're okay?"

"I'll be better when we nail this guy." Greg said, walking toward the lab.

"McKean's looking for you." Grissom warned. "And he wants an explanation."

Greg stopped and looked at his boss. "McKean can kiss my…"

"Finish that sentence and you're on suspension." The under sheriff had appeared in front of the entrance to the lab.

Greg rolled eyes. "What can I do for you, Sir?"

"I don't like your tone."

"I don't care." Greg was too tired to put up with this shit.

"I thought I told you to leave. Mr. Ripley alone."

"Before or after he pulled a gun on me?" That shut him up. Greg continued, "We went to his apartment to serve a warrant, and he shot me. I would also like to add we found something to place him at the crime scene, and if he is innocent, then we'll rule him out." He pushed by McKean and stormed into the lab.

"Your people seem to share your distain for politics, Grissom." McKean muttered.

"My people do their jobs, Jeff. Maybe you should do yours and let them." Grissom said. The conversation was over.

Greg walked into the lab, and went into the break room to collect his thoughts. He just sat down when his pager went off.

Greg shook his head and went to go see what Hodges wanted.

"You look awful." ,was the first thing Greg heard when he walked in.

He smiled. "Thank you."

The lab rat looked him over. "Seriously, you don't look so good."

"I'm not in the mood." Pause. "Do you have something, or did you page me just so you could look at me?"

"Grouchy, too." Hodges said. "The explosive material from your bomb is patented by the mining company that Jack Ripley works for. There's a very limited number that have access to it."

"Thanks, Hodges." Greg decided that he needed more caffeine.

"You know, should really get sleep."

Sanders returned to the break room and poured another cup of Hawaiian Blue. Then he claimed a spot on the sofa and slowly digested the events of the day.

Nick Stokes entered the room, having sniffed out the distinctive blend. He looked around. Greg was staring off into space, his coffee untouched on the table.

"Hell of a day, G."

Greg looked up at him, startled. "Yeah." He shook his head. "What are we doing, here Nick?"

"Putting a man away for raping and murdering a young women."

"Only to have him get off because his father bought the under sheriff's election. After we find everything we can to make sure he goes away, and almost get killed twice in the process."

"Not if the evidence is solid, Greggo. Don't let McKean get to you. Your job is finding out the truth, not covering his ass." Nick told him.

Greg smiled at him sadly. "And have the guy walk because of who he's connected to. Because of some technicality, soon mistake I didn't know that I made. Or, if not career suicide for screwing with the guy in charge?"

"That won't happen, Greg, because you haven't made any mistakes and if Jack did this, all you will do is get the people that matter to respect you for your integrity." Nick said, trying to comfort his friend. "He can't fire you for doing your job."

Greg gave him a real smile. "Good point."

"You're doing a great job on the case, by the way. If this proves out theory, Jack Ripley will go down for murder because he's guilty. It wouldn't surprise me if this case got you a promotion."

"Thanks Nick."

**A/N: this is wrapping more slowly then I expected. One more chapter to write, it seems. Read whatever you want into that last scene, but this is not a romance story, anyway. Nick/Greg or otherwise.**

**Thank you for all the lovely reviews. Please keep them coming.**

**-Lefty. **


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: not mine. **

**Spoilers: Season seven**

Just as Nick and Greg were finishing their coffee, Greg's pager went off again. "That'll be Mandy." He and Nick went to the print lab.

The tech was waiting. She looked over at them. "Got a match from the prints you lifted off the murder weapon."

"Jack Ripley?"

Mandy nodded. "You can go tell McKean 'I told so' if you want."

Greg laughed. "At the moment I'd rather avoid him altogether. Every time that I talk to him, he threatens to suspend me. Anything from the bomb components?"

"No match to your suspect. Somebody else tried to destroy your crime scene."

Sanders frowned. They were still looking for somebody else. "Great. We still need to find the bomber. Whoever it is works for the company, though." He considered the options. "Someone who wants to protect Jack and the company's reputation."

Nick followed his line of thinking. "Maybe we should be looking at the father."

"Good thought. Why don't you have PD pick him up? I still have an interrogation to get to, but I'll catch up with you later."

Nick nodded and walked away. Greg headed toward the interrogation, but was stopped by Natalia.

"I heard you caught our guy."

"Yup." There was an awkward silence. "Of course, we still need to find the bomber." He explained what Mandy had just told them.

"Any suspects in mind?"

"Nick and I are taking a look at the father." It was quiet again.

"It was nice seeing you again ." Natalia told him.

"Any chance that that it won't take years for you to talk to me again?"

"Maybe."

Horatio's arrival interrupted them. "We've got an interrogation to finish."

"Right." The two went over to PD, where Brass was waiting for them with Jack.

Brass and Jack were seated at opposite sides of the table, glaring at each other. Greg and Horatio entered the room. Horatio took a seat next to Jim, while Greg decided to stand. He leaned over the table grinned at him, showing far too many teeth to be friendly.

"Hello, Jack."

Ripley just glared at him. "You can't hold me here."

Brass rolled his eyes. "We've got you for murder, and the attempted murder of a friend of mine. I think we hold you for quite awhile."

Jack tried to look defiant, but all the CSIs and Capt. Brass saw was fear. "I was defending my home. You can't prove anything, or I'd be in a cell right now."

"That's a very dangerous thing top say to a scientist." Horatio chimed in. "If you aren't the killer, then why are your prints on the murder weapon?"

"I don't have to talk you people." Jack was saying. He sounded scared.

Greg looked at him. "You don't have to. The evidence is telling us plenty. You raped and murdered a young woman in your office, probably because she threatened to tell your secret to the police."

Jack said, "I want a lawyer." The others ignored him.

Greg continued, "You were abusing her Jack, and she was going to talk the police, to protect your child from you." There was obvious disgust in his. "You couldn't have that happen, could you?"

"That bitch was going to ruin everything! Destroy my family's reputation, our business." Ripley snapped back at him. "My father and I couldn't let that happen." He stopped, realizing the implications of what he just said.

"So your father was the one that decided to destroy the evidence and us along with it?"

Jack didn't say another word. After a few moments, a uniformed officer escorted him to his cell.

The CSIs and Jim left a few minutes later. Under Sheriff McKean immediately stopped Greg.

"You and I have a press conference to discuss."

**A/N: Case resolved anyway. Last chapter should be up tomorrow, thanks for all the lovely reviews. You guys are awesome. Feel free to leave another (hint) Thanks for reading,**

**-Lefty.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: not mine, (duh…)**

**Spoilers: Season 7**

Greg gaped at McKean. "What?"

"You and are gong to tell the media that no body in this city is beyond the law, no matter who they are connected to."

"Is that how you want to spin this?" Sanders hook his head. _No wonder the Bugman hates politics._ "Cause I thought we weren't even supposed to be looking in that direction."

"It's called damage control. If the voters heard about this from another source, it wouldn't look good. This way We prove that no one is above the la and you get a nice commendation out of it for finding the truth." McKean told him. "It would help your reputation as well as mine."

Greg was liking politics less and less. He thought about the situation. "And all I have to do is tell them how you supported me the whole way." If felt wrong just thinking about it. "Or I could tell the truth and…"

"Destroy two careers?"

"Just yours." Greg stomped down the hall and away from the under sheriff. There was no way that was going to lie just to cover McKean's ass.

"Stop!"

Greg turned and looked at McKean. "I've got nothing left to say."

McKean shook his head. "I know, I may have made a mistake earlier."

"Coming from you, that's quite a concession."

"And smart ass comments aren't going to resolve this.." For a second McKean looked almost as tired as Sanders felt. "Look, I need to tell them something,"

"That's not my problem. I don't want to talk to the media, but I'm not going to lie if they ask me questions. I've got better things to do then ruin your career to look good in front of the media. This never was personal, as I far I'm concerned. Why don't you tell the press that we caught a vicious killer and maybe an accomplish?"

"Fair enough." the politician left the building.

Greg turned and found himself facing Horatio. "Hi."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to eavesdrop…"

"Never mind." Greg sighed, "At least he should leave me alone for awhile."

"Sounds like you two have a history."

Greg laughed sardonically. "Long story. Let's just say he's more interested in keeping his job then doing it."

Horatio smiled at him. "I actually meant to thank you. Nice job nailing Jack."

"Tell my supervisor as much, and we'll call it even." Greg said.

Horatio nodded. "No problem."

"Thanks." Greg's phone rang. "Sanders."

"Hello, Greggo."

"Hi, Dr. Nick."

"What?" the Texan didn't get the reference.

"Never mind. I take you got the father's prints."

"Match to the ones that Mandy lifted from the bomb. We're bringing him in now. Should be back in a few minutes."

"Cool. We shouldn't need a confession from him, and we've all ready got his son for the murder." Greg thought out loud. "Listen. I'll catch up with you later. I'm going write the report for Grissom. I'll catch up with you in a few hours.

"All right. See you a little while.

_Break room, two hours later. _

_  
_Grissom entered the dark, mostly empty room. He was pouring himself a cup of coffee, lost in his own thoughts when a loud snore brought the world around him back into focus,

Greg was curled up on the sofa, having dozed off after putting the report on his boss' desk. The long shift had finally caught up with him.

_I guess even Greg has to sleep sometime. _He had never seen his employee sit still for more then thirty seconds at a time. It seemed odd f\or Greg to be completely motionless.

He walked over and gently shook Greg to wake him.

""Lemme alone." Greg didn't even open his eyes. "I left my report on your desk."

Grissom shrugged. "I read it all ready. That's not what I wanted to talked to you for."

Greg opened his eyes and sat up. "Of course not."

"Horatio talked to me earlier, and he told me what you said to McKean."

"So?"

Grissom smiled at the young CSI. "I 'm proud of you for standing up to him. You also did a great job on the case. "

"Glad you think so."

"I'm got something for you." He handed Greg a CSI badge. "You are now a CSI level three."

"About dam time." They both turned to see Nick standing in the doorway. "Congrats, Greggo. You did a good job." He smiled, happy for his friend.

**A/n: I'm still not happy with the ending, but at least it's something. I had a lot of other ideas, but this was getting longer then I wanted it too as it is. I do mean to put up an epilogue though. I also have an idea for a Greg/ Brass friendship peace set in New York, and it involves Ellie and an old friend of Greg's getting into trouble. May also include Bug and Nigel from Crossing Jordan, if you're interested. **

**Thank you for reading and reviewing,**

**-Lefty **


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: CSI and Greg Sanders aren't mine… wish they were, though.**

**Spoilers: Season seven **

Greg looked over at Nick. "So, did the father have anything to say?"

"He offered to give up Jack for murder if we cut him loose."

"He's a little too late to make a deal."

Nick smiled. "That's what I told him. After that all he had to say was 'I want my lawyer.' ".

Greg laughed. "Won't help much. We have him for accessory to murder and attempted murder of police officers. He's going away for a long time."

"And Jack will be gone for even longer, assuming that he doesn't get the dearth penalty." Nick confirmed. "So, you've captured a viscous killer, gone head to head with the Under Sheriff, and gotten a big promotion out of the deal. What are you going to do next?"

Greg smirked. "I'm going home to bed. More seriously, he added, "And I had help." Greg looked over Stokes, making eye contact.

Nick grinned over at him. "I suppose so. You want a ride home?"

**A/n: Short, but my brain is somewhere else. You can read whatever you want into that last line. ;) (Not against slash, just suck at romance in general) Thank you to all those who reviewed, and even if you didn't, thanks for reading at least. The prologue to the next one will be up shortly. I hope you liked this story and thanks again.**

**-Lefty **


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